New cars are stunning masterpieces of modern technology. They perform admirably, and with minimal care, they easily go 100,000 miles with hardly a hiccup.
What appeals to many of us, however, is the image they present. Sleek fenders, the latest wheels, and the paint! Ooh, la, la! Don’t scratch our paint, because it will mar the beauty of the machine. It will take away its perfection, and it will be less than what we want it to be.
However, the paint on an automobile is much more than simply eye candy. It is far more important than its “bling” factor.
If we scratch the paint, we invite contaminants to work their way next to the metal, and in that contact, rust soon begins to eat away at our technological masterpiece. And as many people will attest, repainting the damage never gives us that original finish back. Refinished paint just never holds up as well.
When Jesus came on the scene, he made it clear that he didn’t come to strip off the old paint. He came to polish what God had laid out so many centuries before, bringing it back to perfection.
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said he came to fulfill the prophets. He would add a protecting layer of carnauba to that which was already there.
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us all Scripture is of God, and Paul didn’t mean the New Testament. That momentous tome wasn’t even written then. The apostles were still living out the events we treasure so highly today. Paul referenced the original layer of paint.
Romans 7:12 assures us the law is holy, and its commandments are righteous and good. The paint might have become weathered, but it still served its purpose.
James 2:8-12 really lays it on the line. We must love our neighbor as ourselves, but we cannot afford to leave any of the other laws undone. If we polish only our doors, and we leave our fenders to rust, our car will one day fail us, even as we pretend it is a fine automobile.
Don’t scratch the paint. What that really means is we must pay attention to the entire Word of God. We cannot pick and choose, for if we do, we invite the contaminates of the world to attack our Christianity, and the rust of sin will soon begin to destroy our walk with the Father.
Maintaining our Christian walk is more than a one-time prayer. We must regularly polish the paint so that we can remain in service to the King.
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Code: FGO.E.26.14b.vp